1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to windshields for vehicles and, more particularly, to a heating device for a windshield of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide a windshield for a front opening in a vehicle body of a vehicle. Typically, the windshield includes two glass panels or sheets laminated to each other by an adhesive film or interlayer therebetween. It is also known to provide wipers to wipe an outer surface of the windshield. Typically, the wipers are pivotally mounted to the vehicle body and rest against the outer surface of the windshield in a wiper rest area at a bottom thereof. During cold weather conditions, these windshields and wipers can become covered with snow and ice. As a result, it is desirable to de-ice the windshield and/or wipers.
For de-icing purposes, it is known to provide a heating element for heating the wiper rest area of the windshield. An example of such a heating element is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,473. In this patent, a heating element is positioned on an inner or second surface of an outer glass sheet and held in position by the interlayer securing the inner and outer glass sheets together. The heating element has extensions extending beyond the edge of the windshield to provide external electrical access to power the heating element to heat the wiper rest area of the windshield.
Although the above heating element has worked, it is desirable to mount a heating device on an inner or fourth surface of the inner glass sheet. It is also desirable to heat specific areas of the windshield for de-icing purposes. It is further desirable to provide a heating device as a decal that can be applied to any windshield. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a heating device for a windshield of a vehicle that meets these desires.